I’ll start this blog post with a conclusion: I will probably not have my music ever going “viral”. This conclusion didn’t come easily; in fact, it took quite a bit of research studying the music promotion business as it is today. What I have decided to undertake is a series of blogs that do not solve this issue. Instead, I would like to bring several elements of the music industry up for consideration and discussion. This blog’s topic is “The Genre Dilemma”. Any truly creative composer today will bump up against this issue at some point in time.
Today is one of the most exciting times to be a composer. In the last few years, technology has improved so quickly, that the composition of music no longer is bound to formal (and expensive) recording studios. From the comfort of reasonably equipped home studios, world class recordings are now being produced in record numbers. The days of relying on a “record contract” to achieve success are in the past. That’s the good news. However, in the wake of this, new obstacles have appeared, and while I don’t suppose to have answers for them, discussing them can keep unsuspecting composers and musicians from falling prey to them. So here we go- buckle up and let’s tackle some of these roadblocks to success.
Like many home studio composers, I work very hard to create unique and interesting music. Once an idea for a song has surfaced in my mind, I work even harder to produce the final product with the highest quality available to me. As I consider placing this new song into the modern, internet venues, I get stopped cold by the first question they ask: What is the genre of this song? Then they provide a drop-down list of their choices. If my song doesn’t fit into any of their genres I’m doomed before I start.
As I see the internet music sites, they have conditioned the listener to pick genres they want to listen to, and by doing so, filter out all songs outside of those “boxes”. As both a composer and listener to music, there are only two kinds of music- well produced, and everything else. Genre to me means very little. In fact, my recent album “Inner Sanctum” touches on a half dozen genres and some songs defy being classified into any of their categories. What’s even worse; songs that I consider to be my “signature sound” are less apt to fit into a genre at all.
Am I unique? I seriously doubt that. For me, selecting a genre for a song before I create it, handcuffs the creative process. It would be different if I was creating music for a living. But I’m not. I create because I have a song inside to share. Genre never enters my mind. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a venue category like “Un-genre-able”; maybe there will be someday, but until then I have accepted my fate and will write from my heart.
In upcoming posts, I will even deeper into the “weeds”, so hang on for an interesting ride.